Nutrients for DWC System

[fatboy578]

Hello all. Nutrients for DWC Hydro system. I have my set up ready to go. I have a 3 x 3 Gorilla grow tent and I have. 600w full spectrum light. Can someone please advise as to which nutrients produce the best results? As soon as I germinate I have to be completely ready to go. Thank you

[Toker1]

Nutrients are nutrients. No line up will produce better than others unless one line up is missing elements. In that case, the manufacturer would not be around too long. So my advice would be to research nutrient manufacturers that have been around past the last 4-5 years or longer.
I personally use fox farm. I get great results. I have also seen great results from botnicare and general hydroponics also. If I were to buy brand new nutrients for DWC all over again (and had the funds to spare), I suppose I would choose Advanced Nutrients because of the PH buffers they include. But they cost a pretty penny. Probably more than the others do. So you need to chose a line up that meets your budget as well.

[FlyingDutchPaddy]

Hey fatboy578 ,

I'm not too far off finishing my 2nd grow with the GH flora series.
1st grow I only had them.

to start my 3rd grow, I'll be using:
GH Flora series (micro, gro and bloom)
CalMag
Silicon
Humic/Fulvic acid
seaweed/kelp

the calmag with humic/fulvic act as pH buffers,
the seaweed helps with expanding root mass in combination with the humic/fulvic acid, (try getting the lighter humic/fulvic as that is more fulvic. humic as dark, not as beneficial as the fulvic).

i agree with Toker1 that the advanced nutrient line is expensive... the pH perfect line is supposed to be good, but i think you can accomplish the same with sufficient CalMag and the Fulvic acid + seaweed.
you'd still might need to adjust pH at any time.

silicon is not essential, but very beneficial to add.

as for the order to mix,
1 - silicon (it raises pH of your water to start with & let this stand for a few hours to fully mix)

2 - pH the water back down to about 6.5

(mix Fulvic to seaweed at 5 parts fulvic to 2 parts seaweed)
3 - add the Fulvic acid,
4 - add the seaweed/kelp

5 - add CalMag
6 - add GH Micro
7 - add GH Gro
8 - add GH bloom

Got this info from watching videos from Harley Smith of NPK
And another site (for information on other topics as well, a long interesting read): https://medteknutrients.com.au/hydro...rient-science/

Depends on how you want to grow.... with a sterile root zone or using beneficial bacteria/amino acid/enzyme additives.

As for which nutrient line to use... there's a few.
some have a grow/veg formula as well as a bloom formula.
others like GH have 3 seperate bottles that you vary the amounts of each bottle as the plant progresses.

hope that helps, and good luck!

[DW2]

Howdy fatboy578, I have used other nutrient lines before and have determined that a fancy label and /or marketing scheme, does not make for a better plant. For Me, the cost and results matter more so I would recommend the GH line.
Good luck on your grow.

[fatboy578]

Thank you all, wow there is a lot to know. I will be honest I am a little overwhelmed. I am afraid to be honest that I do not do something wrong and kill the plants. FlyingDutchPaddy for your 2nd grow you know your stuff. I never read through research about using seaweed. Someone did say powder over liquid nutrients are better. Does anyone know if this is true or just a preference? Is anyone finding that the medical marijuana just does not cut it. This is why I am growing. They are changing all the genetics.

[fatboy578]

FlyingDutchPaddy, Thank you for the link you gave me. It is fantastic. First material I have seen where it explains how everything reacts with one another.

[FlyingDutchPaddy]

Happy you find that info usefull



a few more links I found over time: (a few seem to promote products but the key info is in the knowledge presented for the application of the elements).

https://www.maximumyield.com/contributors/harley-smith

https://npk-industries.com/resources.html

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmC...U9Ud2mw/videos
at the bottom of the YT channel theres 4 longer (30+ mins) videos that go into more detail of what each element does, and the use of beneficials.

been researching ...

[Obi-Wan]

Personally I like Dynagro, I started with GH’s flora trio but Dynagro is just as cost effective and I only use 4 bottles aside from my pH up and down, so it keeps things simple. As others have stated they’re all the same, some are more concentrated than others and some cost more but they’re all providing the same things, always comes down to personal preference.

[fatboy578]

Thanks Obi-Wan I have The bottles of Ph and down so and keeping it simple sounds great.

[Davross]

take a look at Advanced Nutrients. they have a PH perfect technology that works well.
plus they are manufactured pacifically for cannabis

[DrPhoton]

Its not too surprising seeing people here suggest that the difference between nutrient products is small. Nutrient availability or salinity does not impact yield on a linear scale. Its very non linear and there are easy ways which a nutrient profile can be generated from plant tissue analysis. Proper use of plant tissue analysis requires the understanding of the relationship between nutrient yield response and mineral concentration in substrates. As nutrient levels rise and impacts yield, this is called the deficiency zone. The point where any further nutrient levels has no impact on growth is called the adequate zone. The transition between the deficiency zone and adequate zone is the critical concentration point, which describes the minimum concentration where maximum growth or yield is obtained. Beyond the adequate zone is the toxic zone, where mineral levels in this zone will negatively impact the yield or growth of a plant. Using plant tissue analysis, the critical concentration point can be easily obtained, by providing plants with adequate nutrient levels except those in question. By adjusting the levels of an individual mineral the critical concentration can be found and vice versa for all other minerals.

So the idea that more nutrients is better is a misleading habbit, as the plants growth or yield does not change past the critical concentration point, except when reaching the toxic zone, in which growth declines significantly. The adequate zone can be thought of as the compensation zone, where nutrient levels in the zone are only just being tolerated and not being used for any significant purpose. And levels beyond the adequate zone and into the toxic, are failing to be tolerated and actually harming the plant. This is to some degree how certain strains can tolerate higher nutrient concentrations, as their compensation mechnanisms are better.

Putting this into perspective. Nutrient requirements by different species of plants or even different strains within the same species can vary by large margins. Because of this, nutrient products are made for a wide range of plants. It would not be practical to produce a product for each individual species of plant. The only manufacturer of plant nutrients that has been specifically designed for cannabis, is advanced nutrients. Where research has been done using tissue analysis to engineer a formula to suit cannabis exclusively.

Whats more important with nutrients is how they are used. The concentration and frequency of application. The substrate characteristics and the nutrient status over time between events within the substrate, has a much larger influence on plant growth than the nutrient recipe itself. The only real benefit when trying to provide specific nuttient profiles for plants, is the economical benefit from not overusing nutrients when they are not needed. So the efficiency of using said nutrients are improved.

That is not to say that different nutrients cannot be bad. But when adequately made, there is very little difference. Other than nitrogen and sulphur, there is a large tolerance for excess nutrients by plants before toxicity occurs, which allows for a very wide margin of error for nutrient profiles before it starts to negatively impact plant yield. Bio stimulant products such as yucca, humic acid, seaweed extract etc. Would prove as better investments. The biggest issue i see these days are those that use calmag products which use calcium nitrate instead of carbonate. This impacts the nutrient ratio by large amounts and often has signficant effects if not adjusted for. These products should never be used unless they match well with the main nutes they are combined with, which most of the time they do not.

At the end of the day, the main factors to drive people from one product or another, would be factors such as economical value, practicality through ph stability, ease of use or customer support etc.

[ocgreen]

A lot of great suggestions here. Personally I switched from GH Flora Trio to Mega Crop because it's significantly cheaper and I find it easier to mix the all in one powder vs 4 separate bottles of liquid.

Mega Crop is by Greenleaf Nutrients and you can get a free 300g sample from their website. The sample is enough for a few months to see if you like it.

Hope this helps

[JohnEmad]

Some interesting comparison vids by this fellow.
have a look and see what you think.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMEg3qB41rw

[alltatup]

I don't agree that all nutes are created equal. I'm a hydro grower and I've had much better results with Future Harvest nutes than I did with Advanced Nutes. So far with Fut. Harv., no nutrient lockout, which was a problem I always had to watch out for with AN, even using below recommended dose.

The people who make GH nutes also make Roundup: Monsanto. So I refuse to mess with them.

[Toker1]

Quaker old fashion oats? Geese I hope not. Better load up on those omega 3’s tonight in that case.

https://www.quakeroats.com/products/hot-cereals/old-fashioned-oats

[JohnEmad]

Thats quite a company list for Monsanto.Toker1. As it turns out I do not use any of their products at this stage of my life.
Processed stuff will kill ya slow.

[Toker1]

I’m not against processing as much as I am against preserving. And of course, against GMO and Frankin Foods.
I mean, I wash my lettuce before eating. That’s a process. It’s not a harmful one though.
Selective breeding is a process, look what that has done for modern day weed. 😤